Fairy Tales and Fantastic Stories

I remember loving folk tales my grandmother told me, but the brothers Grimm are too morbid for what I would like to read to my children. These tales are thoughtful, sensitive and at times conversation starters with the kids. Mr. Jones has some tales that are not all Disney princess delirium and some that definately show a different side of humanity than we would like to concentrate on. My two girls are begining to expect more from a book than stickers and sweet stories and I am happy to read a good story from this book to my thinking children.

This book is chockful of fun, wacky, and slightly twisted stories. One item to note, all the Terry Jones stories in the "Bedtime Stories" volume are included in this book. We have "Bedtime Stories" and love it -- my three year old especially loves looking at the great and plentiful illustrations while listening to the stories. "Fairy Tales and Fantastic Stories" has far fewer illustrations (only one or two per story), making it less interesting for younger ones. Still, it's a worthy purchase and one that we'll read for years to come.

I was lucky enough to attend a screening where Terry Jones read these stories aloud to an audience, and adults laughed as much as the children. I've been looking for this book to buy to read my nieces and nephews ever since. Very silly, unpredictable stories that kids will want to hear again and again.